


unraveling the mystery

by Mohnblume



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: 5 Times, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25684402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mohnblume/pseuds/Mohnblume
Summary: Hecate is widely known to be standoffish and rigid. That’s why it takes Pippa quite a long time to notice that Hecate sometimes acted strangely to certain actions, and an even longer time to understand why.
Relationships: Hardbroom/Pentangle (Worst Witch)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 78





	unraveling the mystery

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in this fandom! I love Hecate with all my heart and just want her to get some love and process some of the trauma she clearly has. Just some self indulgent fluff and angst, but it's not too heavy. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this piece!

The first time she notices it, they are hugging right after some classic Hubble meddling. And although Hecate’s soft, remorseful words soothe the ever present ache in her heart and fill the gaping hole in her heart, Pippa can’t help but feel that something isn’t right. That there is still some unknown gap that divides them even as they embrace. 

For Hecate, her once best friend, is stiff and still in her arms. Her heart beats irregularly and her breath comes just a smidge too fast.

Pippa chalks it up to the thirty years they’ve spent apart, tells herself that perhaps this is the new normal for Hecate. That she must relearn all the small intricacies about the mysterious witch that she once spent a painstakingly long time observing. 

In her chambers that night, as she gazes at herself in the mirror, willing herself to wait another day to call the dark haired woman, she sees the steely glint in her eyes. She wants to learn about this new Hecate, one that seems sharper and more closed off than ever. 

...

The second time Pippa notices that something amiss, she is merely an observer to the embrace. 

It’s Milderd Hubble who initiates the hug, because only she would be so brave as to so much as touch the impenetrable Miss Hardbroom. 

The reason behind it is fairly ordinary, just a caring teacher helping a struggling pupil, but of course Mildred is still new to magic, and the fire in her cauldron is scarier than it should be. Pippa’s just arrived for their monthly tea, finding Hecate in the midst of putting out the fire. 

She’s always admired Hecate for her sharp wit, her ability to solve any problem quickly. And watching her perform magic is nothing short of breathtaking. So, the smile on her face is wide as she takes in the concentrated furrow of Hecate’s brows, and the graceful waving of her sender hands. 

That smile nearly splits her face in two when the girl throws her arms around her mentor and shouts, “Thanks HB!”

It’s not until she notices that the older woman isn’t responding, instead stiffening as her back straightens, that her smile fades. Pippa feels something uncomfortable curl in her stomach as she counts the seconds until finally, Hecate seems to snap out of it. Still, her thin arms shake slightly as she pats Mildred on the back twice and moves to extract herself from the embrace. 

Murmuring a quick, “that will be all,” the dark haired woman quickly moves to transfer herself away, not even sparing a second glance at her still smiling student. 

The worry intensifies, and she finds herself using a locator spell to track the elusive witch. It sits heavier in her heart after finding the tall witch and spending a terse evening together, her friend insisting that nothing was amiss, though her actions certainly indicated otherwise. They had hardly spoken for the rest of the visit. 

…

The third time, Pippa has forgotten about her newfound resolution to learn all about this new Hecate. She’s too filled to the brim with joy from the surprise of seeing Hecate at Pentangle’s. 

It’s her school, her dream, her _pride and joy_ , and Hecate has never ever expressed any interest in visiting. And now suddenly, she’s here, all haggard from broomstick travel.

At first, she only stares as Hecate stands at the front doors of the school, not able to fully believe her eyes. 

“Hecate? What-what are you doing here?” she asks, half convinced it’s just an apparition, or a figment of her tired mind. It’s nearly midnight, after all.

“I…” Hecate looks to the ground, her voice small, “I came to visit you.”

These words are all she needs, the confirmation that Hecate is here and is here to see her. She lunges towards the other woman, wrapping her arms around her. In her joy, she doesn’t notice that Hecate isn’t returning the hug.

In fact, it’s not until the other witch drops her broomstick that Pippa even realizes that something is amiss. But the thud knocks her out of her reverie, and she pulls back.

“Hecate?” she asks, looking into her friend’s eyes. 

The brunette still hasn’t moved, but instead of meeting Pippa’s questioning gaze, her eyes have gone glassy. It feels like she’s looking straight through her. It’s extremely unnerving, so she tries again to get her attention. 

“Hiccup? Is something wrong?” 

There’s still no response, so she places a hand on the tall witch’s shoulder. That garners a reaction. Hecate flinches hard, but she seems more alert. 

“I’m sorry, I just…” she trails off, then shakes her head a bit wildly, “Sorry. I’m here to see you.”

Something is definitely off, but Hecate is at Pentangle’s, and the joy comes again at full force. 

“Of course! It’s so good to see you, Hecate. Come in, come in!” She ushers her slightly trembling friend in. 

The strange behavior flies from her mind as she gives Hecate an enthusiastic tour, and she doesn’t revisit this memory for quite some time. 

And it’s not until later still that she learns that this is Hecate’s first time away from Cackle’s Academy in over 30 years.

...

The fourth time Hecate acts strangely to something, it’s not a touch but a student’s cauldron exploding. Which can be startling, of course, but the accident is minor by any young witch’s standard. In fact, Pippa can vividly remember a time in their own youth when she had made the same mistake. Back then, the loud pop and the bit of smoke had caused Hecate to burst out into giggles, playfully chiding a young Pippa for her blunder. 

Giggles are not part of the older Hecate’s reactions now. No, instead stiffens, shields her head for the briefest moment, before seeming to remember that she is not alone. Mouth tightening, she turns towards her students, mutters a terse excuse and leaves the room. 

After her departure, the room is silent. Pippa, here for the day to teach modern magic, is technically the teacher in charge, Hecate merely supervising. So, as much as she’d like to rush after her friend and make sure the shallow breaths she thought she saw didn’t quicken into a panic attack, she must stay here and finish her lesson. 

She does. It’s torture, knowing that her friend is somewhere hurting, but she’s here to teach and it’s always what she’s been best at. It’s not as enjoyable as it had been with Hecate at her side, but as the kids all beam at her after completing their potions, she thinks it’s not all bad. 

Finding Hecate isn’t easy. It’s clear that her hiding places have changed since they were students. Pippa still checks all the places the brunette would go for a cry after the other young witches were mean to her, just in case. It takes a while, but finally she gives in and uses a locator spell. 

The spell leads her to Hecate’s chambers, and she rolls her eyes at herself. It really should have been the first place she looked. Waving a hand, she dispels the spell and knocks on the door. 

There’s no answer. By now, it’s nearly two hours following the event that caused this mess, so Pippa’s feeling a bit on edge if Hecate is still upset after so much time. She’s prepared to use an unlocking spell she and Hecate learned as mischievous young witches, but the door isn’t locked. 

Hecate always locks her doors. It’s yet another sign that something has gone terribly wrong, but Pippa can’t figure out what. Is she embarrassed that one of her students failed at the lesson? That seems extreme, even for someone so strict. 

Pippa shakes her head, she simply needs to ask the other witch, as letting her thoughts run away from her can do no good. She walks into Hecate’s immaculate chambers, and looks around. Nothing appears to be changed, no evident signs of distress. So she walks deeper into the space, moving to Hecate’s bedroom. It seems like a logical place to go. 

But the bedroom looks as empty as the rest of the chambers, and Pippa regrets not following the locator spell exactly to her enigmatic friend. As she raises a hand to cast a second spell, she pauses, magic still gathering at her hands. There’s a small shuffle inside the closet, as if something small is rustling around. 

“Hecate?” she calls hesitantly. 

The shuffling gets louder, but there’s no response. Heart pounding, the blonde opens the door, slowly so not to startle the witch who might be hiding there. 

And there she is, curled up in the far corner, with her head down and skinny hands around her knees. Hecate Hardbroom, accomplished witch, Deputy Headmistress and potions teacher is cowering in her closet, rocking back and forth, and sobbing silently. 

Pippa’s heart breaks. She’s always been sensitive to the pain of others, empathetic to a fault, really, but this is Hecate, her best friend in the world, even after all these years. And not once in their many years of friendship has she ever known the other witch to cry like this. 

“Oh Hecate,” she whispers, moving to comfort her friend. She’s just a step away, hand raised to place on her friend’s shoulder, when Hecate flinches.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Hecate whispers, clutching her knees tighter.

The blonde freezes. This might be the most information she’s ever gotten to Hecate’s strange behavior, and oh, how it makes her ache.

Gently, she lowers her hand and goes to sit on the floor. “I’m not going to hurt you, darling. Why would you think that?”

“I’m sorry! I’ll be good, I promise, just _please._ ” The words tumble out of her mouth and Hecate raises her head, tears dripping from her wide brown eyes. 

“No, no of course I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you, Hiccup,” Pippa replies, fighting tears of her own. 

The nickname seems to shake Hecate out of her trance, and she blinks, then stares at the other woman. “Pippa?” she says, her voice achingly young.

“Yes, it’s me, it’s Pippa.” She musters what she hopes is a comforting smile.

It’s silent for a beat, just Hecate’s shallow breathing. Then, the brunette launches herself at her, clinging to her like her life depends on it. Pippa wraps her arms around the trembling form of her friend more out of shock and instinct than anything else. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Hiccup. You’re safe. You’re safe,” she murmurs softly, rubbing her back slightly. 

Pippa’s still a little confused, but Hecate isn’t running, so she counts it as a win. 

…

By the fifth time she notices something, it’s been nearly two years since they’ve reconnected. This time, it’s not a huge breakdown, like the last time, but ever since, Pippa has been hyper aware of what Hecate does and doesn’t do. 

This time, it’s something pretty mundane. 

They are sitting together having tea when Pippa remembers the splendid pink donuts a parent has gifted her earlier that day. Receiving treats is hardly outside the norm for a teacher, but these are really extraordinary; the student comes from a long line of bakers. 

She’s proudly showing them to Hecate, and maybe she’s in a bit of a teasing mood. It’s the end of the semester, and she’s finally relaxing with her favourite person in the whole world, so she’s allowed to take this time to unwind. 

Hecate’s eyes light up when she sees the desserts. The other witch has a sweet tooth, not that she often indulges. 

It makes Pippa’s heart sing to see such enthusiasm in those brown eyes she loves so much, and the teasing, flirty words just come out, “You can have one if you’re a _really_ good girl!”

The change is instant. All the light in Hecate’s eyes has gone, and she shrinks back from the plate, looking chastised. 

“N-no. Of course not, forgive me.” Hecate’s voice is a small, shaky thing, and suddenly the air is thick. 

By now, Pippa has an idea that someone has hurt her friend during the time that they hadn’t spoken. She hopes that it was not before, when they were still friends, and Pippa was just too oblivious to it. She has enough clues, seen enough strange actions, that she’s fairly certain that it’s some lingering trauma to something. A bad partner, perhaps.

But this time, she’s braver. She gathers all the curiosity that’s been growing for the past two years and wills herself to ask, “What’s going on with you?”

It comes out bluntly, more so than she would have liked, but this is Hecate and she has never wanted to understand something more in her life. 

“What are you talking about?” Hecate snaps, her voice high and scared. 

She sighs. Softens her expression and her voice. “I’m worried about you, Hecate. I’ve-I’ve noticed things, things that you do, that confuse me. And I think you’ve been hurt, maybe, that someone has hurt you. You don’t need to tell me, but will you at least tell me what to do to make you more comfortable. I care about you, and I want to be here for you.”

“I…” 

Pippa sits closer, taking the tense woman’s hands. “What is it, Hiccup? What can I do?”

“The question shouldn’t be who hurt me.” 

Hecate’s words come out flat and dry. It takes all of Pippa’s willpower not to scrunch her face up in confusion, but something tells her that this strange segue is Hecate’s way of breaking the ice, that if she just waits, Hecate will finally answer some questions. 

Her hunch is proven right when Hecate takes a deep breath, continuing her thought in that same monotone voice.

“It should be who hasn’t hurt me.”

Pippa’s heart clenches, any satisfaction at learning more outweighed by the seriousness of her words. 

“My father, my mother, my teachers, my peers...I should be used to it by now, but I’ve always been weak,” she says, her voice beginning to develop a self deprecating edge. 

“Tell me how to help.” 

Hecate meets her eyes, searching for...something. Pippa holds her gaze, focuses on pouring all her love and affection to this woman, and it must work because Hecate relents. 

“I don’t like to be touched. It scares me because I never know if it’s going to hurt or be gentle. Loud noises, too. Certain words. Small spaces.” 

“Okay, Hiccup,” Pippa says gently, careful to avoid moving closer to the other woman, “I won’t touch you anymore.”

“No!” Hecate looks even more distraught. “I-I like it when you do. It’s just...my body, it reacts and I can’t control it. But...with you, Pipsqueak...I always feel safe.”

That’s all it takes, and Pippa is gathering her friend’s slim frame in her arms. This time though, the dark haired witch sinks into the embrace. It fills Pippa’s heart up, and it’s _everything._


End file.
